Seawalls have long been employed to protect the shoreline against waves and rising high waters. Under ordinary conditions, for example during regular tidal cycles, most seawalls are able to perform this task adequately. However, when the rising water is driven by high winds or currents that typically accompany an ocean storm such as a hurricane the protection provided by the standard seawall may not be sufficient. The water may rise or crash over the top of the seawall and cause severe damage to the wall itself as well as to the soil or property being protected by the wall. Indeed, during a hurricane the rising water may crest above the seawall even days before the actual hurricane arrives, thereby causing particularly extensive soil erosion and damage to both the seawall and beach front property.
As shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 98,953, 244,640 and 4,362,432 a number of conventional seawalls employ a tie back or support structure that is buried beneath the ground behind the seawall. Such supports are intended to reinforce the seawall against pounding surf. However such walls are particularly susceptible to waves or high water that crest over the wall. Soil is washed back with the retreating water, thereby exposing the typically wooden support structure. Repeated pounding may eventually cause the support structure and the wall itself to collapse and, as a result, even further damage is caused to the property and soil behind the wall.